Mick’s Pick Six: Week 11 Streamers – That’s So Ravens!

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Week 11 streamers are a bit more difficult to come by than usual. With six NFL teams facing a bye, waiver wires were hit at a frenetic pace this week. As a result, many popular sleeper picks may no longer fall into the streamer category. But seek I shall, and find I will. The players below all face favorable matchups this week and are not currently being rostered and/or started in enough leagues given the potential weekly upside they possess. Here is my positional breakdown of the top Week 11 streamers.

Week 11 Streamers

Quarterback

This selection is obviously contingent on a couple of things. First and foremost, Joe Flacco must be declared inactive on Sunday. He has yet to practice this week due to a lingering hip injury. Secondly, Jackson must be named the starter. The latter is no sure thing. Jackson missed practice on Thursday as well with a stomach bug. The issue sounds relatively minor, but starting a rookie who is missing valuable practice reps may not be in John Harbaugh’s best interests. It is entirely possible that the Ravens decide to go with Robert Griffin III on Sunday.

Regardless of which Raven lines up under center on Sunday, he should make for a worthy Week 11 streamer. The Cincinnati Bengals have given up the third-most fantasy points to opposing signal callers this season. That trend has only gotten worse for the Bengals recently. Over the last four weeks, Cincinnati has ceded an average of 30.74 fantasy points to quarterbacks. That is 6.53 higher than the next highest team has allowed. (Ironically, the Ravens themselves.) The manner in which the Ravens approach the game will be greatly determined by Flacco’s availability. If the veteran can find the strength to suit up, Baltimore will employ their traditional high-volume short passing attack. Cincinnati has surrendered the third-most passing yards this year, and only Atlanta has allowed more touchdown passes. Flacco would remain a high-floor, low-ceiling option. He is owned in 54 percent of leagues.

Were Jackson or Griffin to get the nod, Baltimore would utilize some designed runs and some read-option concepts to have their quarterback take advantage of their athleticism and rushing ability. Jackson, in particular, has drawn favorable comparisons to Michael Vick. In Vick’s first season as a starter, he finished as the overall QB2 despite throwing for 300 yards in just one of 15 games. He also averaged more points per game than that year’s QB1, Rich Gannon. Later on in his career, Vick finished the 2010 season as the overall QB1 despite playing in just 12 games and finishing 20th in passing yards. Lamar Jackson is owned in just 38 percent of Fantrax leagues. Griffin checks in at 3 percent. All of the Ravens’ starting quarterbacks are viable Week 11 streamers in this matchup.

Running Back

Ty Montgomery, Baltimore Ravens v. Cincinnati Bengals

I tried to justify using Aaron Jones as a streamer but that ship has sailed. It is kind of hilarious that the last person to realize Jones is a stud is his own head coach. Anyway, that means I need to find a suitable replacement. I’m not going to lie to you – it’s not pretty. Not only are options limited with six teams on a bye, but the teams who are off this week are among the most burnable on the ground. Four of the teams who are on a bye have given up at least 20 points per game to opposing backfields. One of the teams that running backs continue to feast on is the Cincinnati Ravens. So let’s just push all of our chips in on the Ravens and add Ty Montgomery to the list of Week 11 streamers.

Montgomery has yet to take the field as a Raven, and word is that the coaching staff wants to make sure Montgomery has mastered the playbook before activating him on Sunday. But if he takes the field, he should be inserted into fantasy lineups. The Ravens will want to lean on the running game on Sunday, particularly if Flacco were to sit. To say Cincinnati struggles to stifle running backs would be a bit too kind. Pick a metric, any metric. The Bengals rank 31st of 32 NFL teams in adjusted line yards allowed and 30th in run DVOA. They are also 31st in DVOA on passes to opposing running backs. I bumped Alex Collins up to RB1 territory in my Week 11 rankings, and I believe Montgomery deserves a boost as well.

Montgomery is currently owned in 63 percent of leagues and is active in only 17 percent. Those numbers should be much higher, particularly in PPR leagues. If for whatever, reason, Montgomery does not play, everything I just said would still apply to Javorius “Buck” Allen, Baltimore’s heretofore pass-catching running back. Allen has similar ownership and startership percentages to Montgomery. (65 and 21 percent, respectively.) As is the case with their quarterbacks, I would be willing to plug in whichever player is in the lineup for Baltimore against Cincinnati’s hapless defense. These combinations also make for intriguing DFS stacks, where all of the Ravens’ quarterbacks and running backs sans Collins are uber-cheap.

Wide Receiver

The unfortunate torn ACL suffered by Rams’ wide receiver Cooper Kupp means that second-year wideout Josh Reynolds is the next man up for Los Angeles. However, it must be stated that this is not a simple 1:1 replacement. Kupp has been a reliable slot receiver over the last two seasons. In the six games he started and finished this year, Kupp had 47 targets, 35 receptions, and 527 receiving yards. In the two weeks he was out previously, Reynolds totaled just 59 yards and had four catches on six targets. However, there is hope for Reynolds to hit value this week when the Rams host the Kansas City Chiefs.

The last time Reynolds started in place of Kupp, he caught two touchdowns and finished as the overall WR10 for that week. Certainly, that is on the highest end of his range of outcomes, but it goes to show that he is capable of making an impact. Monday night’s matchup features the highest implied point total in NFL history. It would be wise to have as much skin in this game as possible. In that regard, Reynolds is the most readily available commodity in which to invest this week. Reynolds is rostered in just 39 percent of leagues and is active in 12 percent. With so many wideouts out of action this week, Josh Reynolds could be a nice plug and play in this likely shootout.

Tight End

I had Ricky Seals-Jones listed in this very space a week ago, and I am going back to that well. Last week, Seals-Jones failed to hit pay dirt. But he was quite effective nonetheless. He had a career-high nine targets and tied for sixth at the tight end position with 51 receiving yards last week in Arizona’s loss to Kansas City. The second-year pro should be heavily involved once again when Arizona plays host to the woeful Oakland Raiders.

Oakland has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends so far this season. They also rank dead last in DVOA against tight ends by a considerable margin. This is an area Arizona can attack, and I expect them to do so with great success. He is available in 56 percent of leagues and currently active in 21 percent.With Rob Gronkowski, George Kittle, and David Njoku resting this week, Ricky Seals-Jones is one of my favorite Week 11 streamers.

Kicker

Matt Bryant has not played since back in Week 6. Including Atlanta’s Week 8 bye, Bryant has missed the last four weeks as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Unfortunately, 43-year old kickers are going to be inherently more susceptible to injuries. The upshot is that while Bryant was sidelined, his ownership dropped precipitously. The veteran enters Week 11 rostered in just 45 percent of leagues. Bryant is expected to return on Sunday after getting in a full practice on Thursday.

We know to target teams who should score a lot of points. Not many teams have a higher implied point total in Week 11 than the Atlanta Falcons. Bryant also benefits from kicking in the cozy confines of a domed stadium. While a good portion of the country is currently experiencing weather-related issues, there will be no such concerns regarding kicking conditions in Atlanta. Matt Bryant should be reinserted into fantasy lineups this week and for the foreseeable future.

Defense

Indianapolis Colts v. Tennessee Titans

If I had written this earlier in the week, I probably would have chosen the Arizona Cardinals. After beginning the week rostered in 26 percent of leagues, that number has nearly tripled since Monday as the Oakland Raiders come into town. As it stands, I will be pivoting to the Indianapolis Colts, albeit a bit begrudgingly. The Tennessee Titans have shown recent signs of life offensively. But the Titans have given up multiple sacks in seven straight games. Indianapolis is also tied for sixth in the league with 17 turnovers forced. The Colts can be a solid if unspectacular streaming option this week.

Extra Point

Gerald Everett, TE, Los Angeles Rams v. Kansas City Chiefs

You will not often see a tight end listed here. Perhaps even more bizarre is that I can also make the case for Everett’s teammate Tyler Higbee to occupy this space as well. This may be hard to believe, but both Everett and Higbee have finished as top-20 fantasy tight ends in back-to-back weeks. If they were to be combined into one entity, they would have ranked ninth in Week 9 and third last week. Everett’s inclusion here is based on a couple of factors. First, as discussed earlier, the Rams will be down an option in the passing game with the absence of Cooper Kupp. There may be a bit (not much) of runoff that trickles towards Everett. The other is that the matchup against Kansas City is one the Rams should look to exploit.

Kansas City has allowed the second-most receiving yards to enemy tight ends this season. They have also done a decent job against wide receivers lately. The Chiefs are sure to focus much of their energy on Todd Gurley, as run defense is where they are most susceptible. Everett is rostered in just 15 percent of leagues and is active in only six percent. Please be well aware that you are not playing Everett (or Higbee for that matter) in yardage or PPR leagues. You should not expect more than a couple of opportunities, and there will not be a ton of volume here. Everett is strictly a touchdown or bust proposition. But at a position where a short touchdown is all it takes to be considered a TE1, he makes for an interesting deep sleeper for this week.

Mick Ciallela has been writing for FantraxHQ since July 2017. He has also written for Bleacher Report. He is a lifelong sports fan and has been an avid fantasy sports player for many years. Mick was the Overall Champion of both the 2016 Football Challenge – Roto and 2017 Play 3 Football contests hosted by CDM Sports. Mick was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York and currently resides in New London, Connecticut.

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